


Give Me One More Night

by Sherwhotreksings



Category: Ghostbusters (2016), Ghostbusters - All Media Types
Genre: Adventure, Angst, Eventual Fluff, Eventual Smut, F/F, but we'll see what actually happens, maybe? - Freeform, romaaaaaance, we're aiming for a slow burn here
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-04
Updated: 2018-06-04
Packaged: 2019-05-18 00:52:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14842463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sherwhotreksings/pseuds/Sherwhotreksings
Summary: Ghosts are Holtzmann's thing, not people, and certainly not dealing with strong emotions. That's why when Erin announces she's moving, and Abby and Patty are gone, things get tense fast.





	Give Me One More Night

**Author's Note:**

> So this started off as a quick "write something to get over this block" story and has turned into something a lot bigger. A big shout out to @googoogojob on tumblr for the picture inspiration which got this ball rolling (link to post in end notes)

Holtzmann paces across the room waiting for Abby to come back with the news. She and Patty left several hours ago to check out a possible situation. When there’s only a minor incident it makes more sense to only deploy half the team, especially the half that doesn’t include Holtzmann. She’s brilliant, but not really the person they want to bring along when they’re trying to be discrete and fast. She isn’t offended by it, in fact, she suggested it the first time. She’s the lady you bring in if the team needs, in her words, “the big guns.” Her enthusiasm, strength, and almost unfailing energy during a bust are all why she’s a great ghostbuster, but also why she has firmly landed herself in the accidentally reckless category. 

She stops and checks the watch face on her fitbit. 9:05 pm. It’s not that she’s extremely anxious about this bust, not any more than normal, but Erin isn’t here and she’s bored. She texted Erin earlier, but didn’t receive a reply. She assumes that means her date is going well. Erin told her about this guy when they first started going out some months earlier, how he’s a software engineer at a local tech business. She showed her a picture too, because Holtz hasn’t met him in person yet. He wasn’t what she was expecting. She thought he’d be a hipster type man, with a man bun, not a salt and pepper hair, suit wearing man in his mid 40s. 

Holtz loudly huffs, rolls her eyes, and stomps over to the door to look out the little window and see if she can see anything interesting. Interesting at this point is a very low bar. Erin’s date ranks just slightly above interesting, and that’s only because of Erin herself and how she thinks he’s interesting. She doesn’t want to think about Erin’s date anymore and turns her attention back to the window. The first drops of rain are falling. People shuffle about, not bothered by the light drizzle. Not interesting. With a flash of lightning, the rain turns into a downpour and people scatter like squirrels caught at a birdfeeder. Interesting. One man pops open an umbrella and hunches down like any drop of water could kill him. Another woman holds her hand above her face. To protect her makeup, Holtz supposes. A man and a woman holding hands laugh and kiss passionately. 

At that, Holtz’s mind can’t help but jump back to Erin on her date, and Erin kissing her capital D Date, and the possibility of Erin ending the night on her capital D Date’s D. Something bubbles inside her. It’s not jealousy per se, but something similar. She pushes it back down inside. She’s known she has a huge, massive, elephantine crush since day one, but she hasn’t done anything about it beyond some gentle flirting. She’s not a pushy person, number one, and number two she respects Erin and her straightness, whether or not it’s a reality. 

She’s compiled a list of evidence as to why Erin is not straight and just hasn’t realized it. The number one reason being all her less than steamy and less than reciprocated “flings” as Erin calls them. Except for this one. He’s been around for a while and Erin seems, well, happy. Not ecstatic, not head over heels, but content. Erin never really does head over heels. Holtz turns around and slides down the door, dropping with a loud thump to the floor as she contemplates her list and how this particular date fits in. It’s at that moment when the door is pulled open and Holtz flops backwards through the doorway, partially outside now as she lies there. 

A dripping wet Erin Gilbert stares down at her and some of the water droplets fall off her and onto Holtz’s face. Erin is standing in such a way that if she were wearing a skirt Holtz would’ve seen right up it, not that it’s something Holtz would’ve done had she been wearing one. 

“Uh… Holtzmann? What are you doing?” Erin questions. A drop of water rolls down her nose. 

“I was looking out the window and then I decided to sit down and then you opened the door and then I fell over.” Holtzmann almost comically scoots herself on her back away from the door and out from between Erin’s legs before she jumps up. “How’d your date go?” She peeks behind Erin hoping to catch a glimpse of him. No such luck.

“It went well! Nathan was really nice. We’re going out again Sunday afternoon.” Erin tucks her hair behind her ears, wiping the water off her face. 

Nathan, that’s his name. Holtz trails behind Erin as she walks over to the stairs. Holtz mildly listens to the details of Erin’s date, desperately trying not to notice how her once light and airy blouse, is now saturated with water and stuck to Erin’s curves. 

“We went to this classy restaurant, not super fancy, but a nice place. The sort of place where-” 

Holtz stops listening as she notices how the wet blouse has risen from walking up the stairs and little beads of water are gliding down the small of her back and into the gap in her pants. Holtz has always wondered what that strip of skin would feel like under her touch; if it’s always warm or just a little too cool. 

“-held my hand the entire dinner and didn’t let go after I finally told him how I’m a ghostbuster and not just a physicist-” 

She’d love to hold Erin’s hand and anyone who would want to put it down is automatically insane. No doubt about it. Her hands look so gentle and soft. The few times they’ve held hands (for completely professional reasons of course) Holtz was hard pressed to find a reason to ever let her go, other than the ghost barreling at them that needed to be caught. 

“Holtz!” Erin waves her hand in front of her face.

Holtz blinks a few times. They’re standing in the middle of one of the bedrooms they keep ready in case someone needs to sleep over. Erin is holding a pair of dry clothes, foot tapping impatiently. 

“I’m going to change. Do you mind…” Erin motions gently for Holtz to turn around. 

Holtz rocks back on her heels, shoving her hands in her pockets, a sly grin creeping across her face. “I don’t mind, hot stuff.” She winks. “Go ahead.”

Erin blushes deeply. “That’s not what I meant and you know it.” 

Holtz dutifully spins around, listening to the sounds of wet clothes being taken off and dropped on the floor. 

“Why did you come back here?” Holtz asks. Everyone has their own apartment, there is no reason for Erin to be here instead of at her place.

“I hadn’t heard anything from Abby and Patty. I figured I’d just wait here for them to get back,” she pauses a second and then continues, “Okay, you can turn around now.” 

Holtz grins goofily as she sees what Erin is wearing, an old t-shirt with “Big Rick’s Blazin’ Wings” written across it, featuring a chicken with fire wings, and some cotton shorts. 

Erin rolls her eyes. “I… also… wanted to tell you about what happened.”

A wave of guilt washes over Holtz as she realizes she didn’t actually listen to what Erin had been saying before. 

“You’re my best friend.”

Holtz nods once, hard enough to displace her glasses, so she presses them back into place.

“Nathan and I are moving in together. I wanted to tell you first.” Erin fiddles with the hem of her shirt, tugging on it and twisting it in her fingers. “We’ve been dating for a while and we’ve had conversations. It’s the next step.”

Holtz’s stomach drops. Erin move in with Nathan? Things are a lot more serious than she thought if they’re already to this level. She can’t imagine Erin ever liking anyone enough to want to move in with them. She’s never even seen Erin in a serious relationship other than this one. She should really make an effort to move past this crush. It would be super awkward to be at her best friend’s wedding and crushing on the bride. Not that this is even at the wedding stage yet, but… 

“That’s great. I’m happy for you if you’re happy,” Holtz says bluntly. 

A wave of relief visibly passes over Erin’s face as she finally grins at her own news, hands stilling. “I think this is the right thing. Besides it’s more economical that way. We’ll both be saving on rent and food, travel time, you know.”

“Yeah it’s smart.” Holtz looks away, trying not to let her emotions show on her face, knowing fully well that she pretty much has zero control over her expressions when complicated emotions are involved. She fishes her phone out of one of her many pockets, scrolling through her notifications to see if there is anything from Abby or Patty.

“Anything?”

“Not yet. Maybe we should check the voicemail on the office phone? They might’ve called here.” Holtz moves towards the stairs, trying to push down the sense of dread she’s gotten for the second, or third, time tonight. 

Holtz gets there first, since she knows Erin’s hands will be too shaky to pick up the phone and press the necessary buttons, Holtz does it and plays it on speaker. 

“You have - four - new messages. Message - one - 2:32 pm.”

“Hey guys,” Kevin’s voice floats across the speaker, as if he’s far away, probably holding the phone upside-down again, “I’ll be late into work tomorrow. I’m at a cotton candy eating party, and I accidentally got stuck to the wall.”

“Oh sweet, sweet, sticky, Kevin.” Holtz presses the next button. 

“Message - skipped - next message. Message - two - 2:34 pm.”

“AAAAAAYYYYYYY GHUSTBOSTER!!”

“Message - skipped - next message. Message - three - 4:56 pm.”

“Uhh Holtz? Get Erin. I think this is bigger than we-” Patty’s voice cuts off.

“Message - over - next message. Message - four - 5:01 pm.”

The fourth message starts off with static, vague words interspersed, but nothing discernable. Then, “-it’s all fake. Abby, that’s not real- not- oh-” 

“Message - over - no more messages.”

Holtz doesn’t know what to say and neither does Erin. Her gut has tightened into a sharp knot. She should’ve heard the phone ring. She should’ve checked the messages sooner. She should’ve done something. Who knows what happened to Abby and Patty now. They could be hurt because of her… dead because of her. She could’ve lost two of her closest friends and certainly the only family she has because she was too busy being bored to think about checking the messages. 

Something hits Holtz in the face and then falls to the floor. 

She looks down and realizes it’s her jumpsuit. Erin must’ve thrown it at her since it’s obviously impossible for jumpsuits to be raining from the ceiling. She bends down and carefully picks it up. 

“Put it on. Let’s go rescue our people.”

**Author's Note:**

> http://googoogojob.tumblr.com/post/174096368508/another-shitty-doodle-and-this-is-also-a


End file.
